Entrepreneurship

Some people are destined to be entrepreneurs. From the time they get through school, or maybe even before that, they're hungry to start a business and lead it to success, and they'll stop at nothing to make that dream a reality. For others, starting a business is a scary, intimidating notion. There are too many unknowns to take the plunge. If you’re considering becoming an entrepreneur, don’t forget all the benefits that go along with it:

1. Flexibility. Work your own hours.2. More spare time (eventually). Spend more time with your family and friends. But note: This is only applicable once your business is established and you have employees handling the majority of necessary responsibilities. Don’t expect to have more spare time until you reach this point. In fact, expect to have much less.3. Call the shots. Nobody else is going to set the rules. You are.4. Set your own deadlines. No more last-minute rushing unless you want to do it.5. Sell how you want to sell. Online? In person? Inbound? Outbound? It’s your call.6. Create your own environment. You can set the formality and culture of your organization.7. Pursue your passion. You can do what makes you happy.8. Create something from scratch. Watch your organization grow from start to finish.9. Meet new people. Network with other entrepreneurs and professionals.10. Build a team. You decide who to hire and bring into your company.11. Create jobs. Improve the economy with new job opportunities.12. Help people. Use products and services to improve people’s lives.13. Become an expert. Learn the ropes of your industry through first-hand experience.14. Invest in yourself. You take the risk, and you’ll gain the rewards.15. Make more money. If you want a pay raise, you can give yourself one.16. Financial independence. No one else is signing your paychecks.17. Tax benefits. Write off your biggest expenses.18. New challenges every day. Find new ways to stimulate your mind.

​19. Get exposed to new cultures. Discover new perspectives and approaches.​20. Discover new fields. Delve deeper into your industry.21. Create an asset. Give yourself something sellable to hedge your bets.22. Connect with your clients. Forge real, personal connections.23. Delegate boring tasks. Don’t do anything you don’t want to.24. You can stop working. Work you enjoy doing can’t be described as “work.”25. The power to give. Have the power and flexibility to donate time or money to worthy causes.26. Get involved in the community. Participate actively in your neighborhood and region. 27. Improve your industry. Push your industry forward with new innovations and ideas.28. Get a mentor. Meet valuable, insightful mentors and learn from them.29. Become a mentor. Take your own knowledge and experience, and mentor someone else.30. Learn new skills. Branch out in new departments.31. Attend new classes and seminars. Constantly refine your skillset and stay updated.32. Have a big office. If you want the biggest office in your workplace, it’s yours.33. Work from anywhere. Work from home, an office or a beach if you so choose.34. Have the option for multiple ventures. Start another business when you’re done with this one.35. Gain entrepreneurial experience. Being an entrepreneur makes you a better professional in almost any position.​36. Get recognized. Start earning name recognition and build a reputation.

37. Get things done faster. Set your own efficiency rates.​38. Build a personal brand. Take the time to develop your personal brand, and tie it into your business’s.39. Get more creative. Create your own opportunities and your own solutions.40. Inspire others. Serve as an example for other people to follow their dreams.41. Reduce your commute. Find an office space closer to your home.42. Have more job stability. Never worry about being laid off or fired.43. Find pride and fulfillment. Finally start taking pride in the work you’re doing.44. Reach your dreams. If you’ve ever dreamed of being wildly successful, this is your chance.45. Learn to embrace failure. Even if you fail, you’ll walk away with new skills and more experience you never had before.46. Have a great story to tell. It will be a fun story for your grandchildren one day, win or lose.47. Leave something behind. Pass the business down to your children and grandchildren.48. Change the world. It may seem like a lofty goal for you right now, but your business really could change the world.49. Resources are plentiful. With the dominance of the Internet, it’s easier than ever to find resources you need, including startup capital, loans, grants and even mentors.50. There’s nothing stopping you. What’s really keeping you from being an entrepreneur? Of course there are risks, but there’s nothing forcing you not to take them.​If you want to become an entrepreneur, there’s nothing really holding you back. Take the leap, and lead the company you’ve always wanted.

Listen & Learn

Gain greater understanding of this career by listening to some successful entrepreneurs share their experiences and stories.

Nobu Nakamura

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Bill Bradley

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Regina Martin

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Meet some successful Entrepreneurs in Asia

Helen London

Marketing Coordinator

Reggie Martin

Sr Product Manager

Casey Minkovic

Executive Assistant

Janet Emerson

Office Manager​

Where to Study

With perennial top-ten grad and undergrad programs, the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (CET) creates a supportive, nurturing environment for all Brigham Young University students interested in starting and growing tech and scalable ventures.

The rankings are identical to those earned last year and continue to highlight the abilities of BYU students, faculty and staff in promoting entrepreneurship across campus.

“Brigham Young University student entrepreneurs continue to demonstrate they are among the best and the brightest in the country," says Lee Perry, BYU Marriott School dean. "We are grateful to the army of supporters of the BYU Marriott School’s undergraduate and graduate entrepreneurship programs. We are especially grateful to our Founders and Associate Founders organizations for the incredible mentoring they provide to our students. We also congratulate the Rollins Center’s administrators and staff and our entrepreneurship faculty, and express gratitude for all the work they do on behalf of our students.”

Over the last five years, BYU undergraduate and graduate students have combined to start 422 companies

and have collectively raised $719 million in funding. Nearly 1 in 6 of the university's 33,000 students takes at least one course in innovation or entrepreneurship.

Ninety-three percent of the entrepreneurship faculty has started, bought or run a successful business, and 162 individual mentors worked with students through an officially sponsored school program.​“The spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship is rampant across the BYU campus," says Steven Fox, Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology managing director. "We are delighted to help students extend their vision of what is possible in their lives.”The Rollins Center provides students interested in entrepreneurship the opportunity for mentored experiences in competitions and workshops both on- and off-campus. BYU annually hosts the International Business Model Competition, the first and largest business model competition in the world, in addition to the Miller Competition Series. Taking what they’ve learned from the Rollins Center with them, BYU students were recently presented the grand prize at the Rice Business Plan Competition and Utah Entrepreneur Challenge, among others.

The Princeton Review evaluates schools based on a wide range of institutional data, including each school’s level of commitment to entrepreneurship inside and outside the classroom; the percentage of faculty, students and alumni actively and successfully involved in entrepreneurial endeavors; the number of mentorship programs available to students; and the amount of funding for scholarships and grants awarded for entrepreneurial studies and projects.The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems and public management. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,300 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.